Posted on 11/04/2010 3:32:56 AM PDT by markomalley
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be a radioactive figure in many parts of the country, but one day after Democrats lost the House in a landslide, Bay Area business and political leaders are already regretting the region's loss of clout.
"Just look around," the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce's Jim Lazarus told The San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday. "The $400 million for the Transbay Terminal project, the [$46 million] Doyle Drive rebuild, the [$86 million] Hunters Point Shipyard cleanup — if she wasn't there, I'm not sure we would have gotten the funding, and we certainly wouldn't have gotten it as fast as we did."
Another business group, the Bay Area Council, also weighed in with worries that federal funding will be in shorter supply for the region with the Speaker's gavel passed to the Republicans.
George Broder, a senior advisor to the group, told The Bay Citizen that it was Pelosi, for instance, who secured a $400 million high-speed rail grant from the Department of Transportation.
“From her perch as Speaker of the House, she’s been able to advocate very effectively for her district,” Broder told the Citizen.
They are not alone.
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said he's concerned Pelosi's fall will also affect projects at the local-government level.
"To the extent that there was an innovation agenda in the U.S. Congress, it really came out of Pelosi's office, along with Reps. Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren," Reed told The Chronicle. "I doubt the new guy, John Boehner, is even going to understand what Silicon Valley is all about."
Indeed, even Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.) ran ads this election season — complete with dancing hippies — declaring Georgia to be "a long way from San Francisco."
San Franciscans are well-aware of the city's historic reputation as a bastion of liberal vice. And that, some are already saying, is another reason they'll miss Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"After portraying San Francisco as Sodom so well that even Democrats were deriding Pelosi's hometown," SF Weekly blogger Joe Eskenazi wrote Wednesday, "Republicans are not going to do our fair city any favors."
Nor should they.
Nancy Pelosi can go back to her old job; 'Yentah in Chief'
isnt it a b**ch when you have to earn your own money.
finally an end to princess pelosi and her agenda of spend spend spend and tax tax tax with NO consequences - when she ran out, they just went to the frank bank and took out more.
enough. when stuff gets straightened out, at least tenth on the list of things to get done is EARMARKS - no dough leaves DC. let the states keep their own money and if they decide to spend it on giving illegals free college, let the damn bridges fall down. sooner or later, the people there will wake up. if not, eventually there will be some nice waterfront for sale.
Entitlement “anything” is a desease.
one must remember pelousy’s self-interest in these projects
The fat lady’s just warming up, folks.
“Republicans are not going to do our fair city any favors.”
Republicans are not going to do our fairy city any favors.
There, fixed it for him...
I live in California and I for one am not happy we have been taxing other people just so she could buy votes in California.
In the end, isn’t that what “pork” is all about, buying votes with other peoples money?
I don’t know how we will ever end this cycle of corruption we call Congress.
Nancy’s only regret is that she will be losing losing her private jet. If John Boehner really wishes to turn things around, his first action should be to retire that plane.
I suspect that no deadbeat kid that ever got kicked out of his parents’ basement and told to go find a job thought they weren’t doing him any favors, too.
They can cry in their $5 lattes.
San Fran is one of the richest cities in the country and they are crying because the fly-over states will no longer be funding their pet projects???? More proof that earmarks have to go. If San Fran wants these projects, they should be funded within their own city.
Hopefully the money train from my wallet to Nancy’s district has been derailed.
Morning markomalley
Right on! The free money is over, San Fran. You want expensive projects for your city? Raise the money yourself.
Right on! The free money is over, San Fran. You want expensive projects for your city? Raise the money yourself.
All that pork came from TAX PAYERS; some of whom live in the favored area and many of whom do not. How many tax payers from other parts of the country are robbed to grant such beneficence to these projects?
Didn't know such thing exists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.